Category: National

Tunisia’s National Anti-Corruption Authority President, Chawki Tabib, warned on Thursday of the collapse of the state because of rampant corruption, smuggling and a parallel economy. He made his comments during a press conference in the capital, Tunis. The country loses four growth points per year, Tabib pointed out, as well as 800 million dinars ($347.9 million) as a result of the smuggling of subsidised food, leading to growing foreign debt. An annual loss of 2 billion dinars ($1.8 billion) is directly due to corruption and the lack of adequate governance…

I felt sad and humiliated at the same time when I read an articles posted in the British website” International Business Times ” , in “ Daily Mail” website as well as in “ AFP”, of the killing of a poor crocodile in the Belvedere’s Zoo, because blind violence reaches even a crocodile, which can not hurt any one of the visitors. The crocodile had internal hemorrhage after he was stoned to death, according to the post of the municipality of Tunis. This painful story denounced by the municipality, was…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to visit Egypt and Tunisia with an agenda of discussing the migration issues facing Europe that emanate from human trafficking in North Africa. In a two-day visit beginning on Thursday, Merkel will first meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo before heading to Tunis to hold talks with Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi on Friday. Merkel’s meeting with the Egyptian president will feature the discussion of such issues as bilateral relations between the two countries, with a specific focus on refugees and irregular…

Bilateral cooperation between Tunisia and Belgium, means to develop them, the situation in Libya and issues of mutual interest, were the focus of the talk on Wednesday in Tunis between Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui and his Belgian counterpart Didier Reynders. In a press statement at the end of the talk, Jhinaoui commended Belgium’s decision to partially lift the travel restrictions for Tunisia. He said he had asked his Belgian counterpart to reconvert Tunisian debt into concrete projects, reminding that 160 Belgian companies are already established in Tunisia. Belgium is the…

Security forces present at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Sousse during the terrorist attack on the hotel in 2015 were accused of not assisting a person in danger under Law No. 66-48 of June 3, 1966, on failure to act. Spokesman for the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Division, Sofiene Selliti said the investigating judge of the division has accused the security forces “of non-assistance and relief to a person in danger causing his death”. In a statement to TAP, Sofiene Selliti stated that the investigating judge closed the investigation on July 4,…

Tunisia’s security situation has significantly improved, but such gains remain relative, a former Tunisian brigadier-general has told The New Arab. The north African nation extended its state of emergency for another three-month period on February 16, with President Beji Caid Essebsi signing the extension amid persistent threats from armed groups. The renewal flies in the face of government assurances of improved security across the country. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed on Wednesday that the state of emergency would “definitely” be lifted in three months’ time. Mohamed Meddeb is a former brigadier-general in the Tunisian army…

In the last two days, the head of the State Council, Abdul-Rahman Al-Swehly, convened different meetings, indicating that the important changes are about to lead the new Libyan scene. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed website interviewed Al-Swehly, after his meeting with the Tunisian President, Baji Caid Essibssi, the Tunisian Parliament President, Mohamed Nasser, and the Tunisian Foreign Minister Khamis Jhainawy, as well as the Russian, the American, the Chinese, the Spanish, and the South Korean ambassadors. Al-Swehly said that the Tunisian initiative is faithfully sincere in resolving the Libyan crisis, Tunisia has the…

From 9-15 February UK Government communications experts delivered two training programmes to reinforce the role and importance of government communications, to share best-practice strategic communications tools and to support Government of Tunisia communicators to develop their expertise in crisis communications. British Ambassador to Tunisia, Louise De Sousa, hosted the five days of training attended by more than 30 officials from eight ministries across the Government of Tunisia. The training was part of an on-going bilateral project to support Tunisia’s strategic communications work and was delivered in partnership with the UK…

Beware a Desert Fox when he’s cornered. It was North Africa, in the winter of 1943, and American soldiers were feeling cocky as they prepared for their first ground battle against the Germans in World War II. So far, it hadn’t been a bad war for the U.S. Army. The GIs were well fed, well paid and well equipped, especially compared to their threadbare and envious British allies. Even better, their baptism by fire had been to splash ashore in Algeria and Morocco in November 1942, where the defenders had…

Belgium has decided to partly lift travel restrictions for Tunisia. “Belgians can travel to Tunisia on the Mahdia-Monastir-Sousse-Hammamet-Nabeul-Tunis-Bizerte coastal route, but caution is recommended,” according to the latest travel advice posted Thursday on the website of the Belgian Foreign Ministry. Non-essential trips are not recommended in the rest of the Tunisian territory, while trips are formally discouraged in the border zones with Algeria west of the Tabarka – Jendouba – Kef – Kasserine – Gafsa – Tozeur axis, and in border areas with Libya south of the Tozeur-Kebili – Matmata…